Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
The first week of the sex-abuse trial of Ghislaine Maxwell saw the first of her four main accusers taking the witness stand to give emotional testimony accusing the British socialite of coaxing her -- at just 14 -- into sexual encounters with financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The jury at the federal trial in Manhattan also heard from former employees who offered an inside look at a lavish lifestyle Epstein shared with Maxwell, who was his girlfriend and then his employee.
Her lawyers say she's a scapegoat for Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial behind bars.
Here are snapshots from a trial drawing international attention:
The first Maxwell accuser's story began innocently enough: She was a 14-year-old eating ice cream at a music camp in 1994 when she was approached by Epstein and Maxwell, walking her Yorkie.
What followed over the next few years, the accuser said, scarred her for life.
The witness -- a woman now in her early 40s who was introduced to jurors as "Jane" to protect her privacy -- testified that Maxwell and Epstein groomed her by taking her shopping and inviting her and her mother to Epstein's mansion in Palm Beach, Florida.
Soon she was visiting the home by herself when, she said, Maxwell and Epstein lured her into unwanted sexual contact that Maxwell treated as "no big deal." It was a pattern prosecutors hope to prove was repeated over and over with other girls and young women.
The defense demanded to know why "Jane" had taken so long to come forward.
"I was scared," she said, choking back tears. "I was embarrassed, ashamed. I didn't want anybody to know any of this about me."
Prosecutors say Maxwell created "a culture of silence" to shroud her and Epstein's crimes. And a piece of evidence seemed to put that culture in writing.
Those instructions were part of a 58-page booklet with rules for staff working at the mansion.
As if to drive home the point about keeping Maxwell and Epstein's secrets, prosecutors say Epstein ordered the construction of a detached staff quarters surrounded by a tall wall that prevented any view of the main house.
Juan Alessi, a former estate manager, testified he considered the privacy measure "a kind of warning that I was supposed to be blind, deaf and dumb, to say nothing of their lives."
Alessi recalled seeing "Jane" several times at the residence and noticed she looked underage. But he also said he never saw her enter the master bedroom with Epstein -- or noticed anything else suspicious about her and the revolving door of young women that would have indicated sex crimes were occurring in his workplace.
He claimed no one alerted him to any misconduct.
"I wish they would have because I would have done something," he said.
The defence displayed some of the tactics it plans to use to discredit "Jane" and three other key accusers who are slated to testify before the end of the month.
Maxwell's lawyers are seeking to portray their accounts of abuse as unreliable, suggesting they have faulty memories and are being manipulated by lawyers encouraging them to play up Maxwell's role in civil claims after Epstein died.
One of the lawyers went so far as to infer that "Jane" -- a veteran television actor -- could be using her acting skills to embellish her testimony.
The lawyer ran down some of the plot lines "Jane" has tackled over the years: protective mom, victim of bullying, someone stalked by serial killers, prostitute. "Not my favorite role," the witness said of the last.
When asked whether her background made her adept giving a "melodramatic and sentimental treatment of interpersonal situations," she demurred.
"Hopefully, not melodramatic," she said. "Just dramatic."
Three more main accusers are waiting in the wings to testify against Maxwell. When that will happen remains unclear, with prosecutors staying tight-lipped about the order of their witnesses.
But the defence's opening statement gave hints about the accusers up next.
A Maxwell lawyer said one is a psychotherapist who met Epstein in New York City when she was 16 and later visited his ranch in New Mexico. Another is a former model from Britain who once dated one of Maxwell's friends.
The third is someone the defense claims introduced Epstein to other victims who are not in the case.
Other evidence the prosecution still plans to introduce: flight logs of Epstein's private planes -- prosecutors say they confirm that Maxwell, Epstein and alleged victims traveled together -- and FedEx records confirming that Epstein sent a gift to one victim when she was just 15 years old.
It's projected the trial could last another five weeks.
------
Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz and Larry Neumeister contributed to this report.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.